Aloe is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known being Aloe Vera, or “True aloe”. The genus is native to Africa and is common in the Cape Province, the mountains of tropical Africa, the islands of Africa including Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. It's been called “Plant of Immortality”.
Most aloe species have a rosette of large, thick, fleshy leaves. The leaves are often lance-shaped with a sharp apex and a spiny margin. Aloe flowers are tubular, frequently yellow, orange, pink or red, and are present, often in dense clusters and hanging, at the apex of simple or branched, leafless stems. Aloe is used both topically and ingested. Most uses of aloe rely on its digestive soothing effects, saccharides (sugars) from the aloe gel, or whole leaf products. The inner gel of the aloe leaf contains the inner leaf juice and is commonly used for the gel which has a soothing effect on the skin and is used topically in skin care products such as sun care products for sun burn, and can also be consumed. The aloe latex is a sappy material between the inner gel and the outer leaf. The inner gel and latex are sometimes referred to as the aloe fillet. The outer layer of the aloe leaf is the rind, which is generally considered waste. Other common uses of aloe include laxative, weight management, digestive aid, skin care, enzyme and saccharide source.
Sources of calcium and magnesium are of high interest as calcium and magnesium are commonly used in the human and animal health and wellness industry for supplements, skin care and pharmaceutical products. Calcium is essential for living organisms, in particular in cell physiology, where movement of the calcium ion into and out of cytoplasm functions as a signal for many cellular processes. As a major material used in mineralization of bone, teeth and shells, calcium is the most abundant metal by mass in many animals.
Common sources of dietary calcium are from foods such as dairy, green leafy vegetables, meat and poultry as well as dietary supplements. Calcium supplements are among the top consumed dietary supplements. Calcium and magnesium in dietary supplements typically comes from inorganic sources such as oyster shell, coral, mined sources including ancient sea bed sources (diatomaceous earth), and limestone.
There are no commonly available plant sources for calcium or magnesium supplements. Calcium sourced from a living plant would be expected to have a higher bioavailability than non-plant sources. This could arise, in part, from the association of the polysaccharides associated with the plant source.